In the sounds of rushing water there is life, and the odd brush with the sublime rekindles memories from half a world away. Whenever I pass a stream, and whenever I have the time, I’ll pull over and pause beside the running water. It only takes a few minutes, and all I do is stand there and listen, but it makes a difference – it allows for a moment of meditation, even when it doesn’t have the customary trappings of what most might consider meditation. Being mindful and appreciating the beauty in a moment is its own form of meditation. Occasionally, deeper pondering will cross my brain at such times, and I acknowledge those thoughts, then let them go, envisioning them drifting along with the current of the water.
Mostly though, I simply stand beside the water and watch, seeing how the sunlight might play on its little waves, listening to the way it tinkles or roars, feeling the calm it instills on its own unbothered journey. I wonder at its power and pull, lulled by its siren-like call, and somehow I feel a little better about the world.
A stream is always worth a stop.
